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The SEC cancelled the adviser registration of an internet investment adviser because it never launched its website.
Kevin Ajenifuja registered his firms with the SEC by filing its Form ADV on May 28, 2015. He stated the eligibility for registration was because the firm was an “Internet Investment Adviser.”
Internet investment advisers typically are not eligible to register with the SEC. They do not manage the assets of their clients and therefore do not meet…

The Custody Rule is full of foot-faults. The concept is easy: have a third party make sure that the investment adviser is not stealing money. That turns out to be a bit harder in execution.
Mohlman Asset Management Fund was using the accounting firm Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP to help with its funds’ financial statements. Mohlman asked the firm to also audit the funds.
A fund manager can satisfy the Custody Rule requirements if…

Apparently, the blockchain makes everything cooler as a way to invest. Even securities laws shouldn’t get in the way. Reginald Buddy Ringgold, III thought he had escaped from the grasp of the SEC when a court refued to issue a preliminary injunction against his Blockvest ICO. The court changed its mind and slapped an injunction in place.
Back in October, the SEC brought charges against Mr. Ringgold, alleging that that they were planning…

Apparently, the blockchain makes everything cooler as a way to invest. Even securities laws shouldn’t get in the way. Reginald Buddy Ringgold, III thought he had escaped from the grasp of the SEC when a court refued to issue a preliminary injunction against his Blockvest ICO. The court changed its mind and slapped an injunction in place.
Back in October, the SEC brought charges against Mr. Ringgold, alleging that that they were planning…

There were massive problems at the schools in Atlanta. Funding problems choked schools from needed capital investments and programming dollars. There was pressure to perform well on standardized tests under the No Child Left Behind Law, with fewer resources.
That pressure was too much for some principals and school teachers. They cheated and changed answers on their students tests.
Shanti Robinson is one of the teachers who went to trial for cheating on the standardized…

The Institutional Limited Partners Association and 35 of its member institutions sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission pushing for stronger regulations on private equity advisory firms.
ILPA is asking the SEC to make 7 changes.
Rescind the Heitman Capital Management No-Action Letter, issued in 2007.
SEC enforcement settlements with private fund advisers should not be conditional on them not seeking indemnification from their investors.
Require private fund advisers to explicitly and…

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, enacted on May 24, 2018, amended the Bank Holding Company Act by modifying the definition of “banking entity” to exclude certain small banks from the Volcker Rule’s restrictions and permitting a banking entity to share a name with a hedge fund or private equity fund that it organizes and offers under certain circumstances.
The Volcker Rule had provided that a banking entity, including an investment adviser,…

As a New England Patriots Fan from the 1970s, it’s hard to imagine the current success of the franchise. The stadium was one of the worst in the NFL. Home games were rarely televised because the games didn’t sell out.
When the Patriots finally made it to the Super Bowl they lost in the most lopsided championship game up until the time. The team fell back to mediocrity, at best.
It took new ownership to…

Joseph A. Meyer, Jr., and his Statim Holdings, Inc. offered investors in its Arjun private fund that investors would not lose money. The catch is that you can’t redeem from the fund for ten years or you forfeit 1/2 of your capital.
Of course the real catch is that Meyer a fraud. (At least according to the SEC and Georgia Secretary of State.)
According to the SEC complaint, Meyer created an Incentive Allocation on…